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Obama wants to move on plans to reform immigration system

Mon, Jan 14, 2013, 00:00

President Barack Obama is forging ahead on a wide-ranging plan to overhaul the US immigration system early this year, including a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country, the New York Times has reported.

Mr Obama may lay out his ideas during his annual State of the Union address on February 12th, the Times said, citing senior administration officials and politicians.

The president had made immigration reform a key promise for his second term, and said in November after he won the election that he expected a bill would be introduced in Congress shortly after his January inauguration.

The New York Times said the immigration plan would require immigrants seeking to obtain legal status to pay fines and back-taxes and would make it possible to pursue citizenship.

The plan would require businesses to verify that new employees were in the country legally and could create a guest-worker programme for low-wage immigrants, the report added. – (Reuters)